Rutledge revisits No Never Alone

Looking alone

Ever since Justin Rutledge elbowed his way into a residency at Toronto’s legendary Cameron House, nearly 10 years ago, he’s never looked back. His debut release, 2003’s No Never Alone, earned him an audience and a reputation he’s continued to fortify as one of Canada’s premier songwriters, performers, and poets. Today, with three more critically and commercially successful records in his catalogue and a flourishing theatrical career, Rutledge has taken his creative impulses further than he ever expected. He’s about to release his newest record Valleyheart, a response to the 10-year anniversary and rerelease of No Never Alone.

“Evan Newman, who sorta runs Outside Music — very cool label — he used to come to my shows at the Cameron House in Toronto,” Rutledge explains. “Late last year he approached me and said ‘Hey, you know it’s almost a decade since you released No Never Alone. How about we rerelease it on vinyl with a few bonus tracks?’ He’s been a friend and supporter since Day One and I said ‘Let’s do it!’ I’ve got a lot of deluxe editions of records, but none of mine” he said, laughing.

“Out of all my records, I thought that that album would probably be the best on vinyl because, on that album, I didn’t really know what I was doing; it’s pretty creaky, there’s some timing issues … It was me learning how to make a record. I’m super happy that Outside wanted to do it.”

For an artist who’s never remained static, it was a little disconcerting for Rutledge to invest so much time and energy into a 10-year-old project, but the process has been surprisingly rewarding. Not only has he thoroughly enjoyed examining how far he’s come, but his newest record is directly inspired by the wide-eyed tunesmith he used to be.

“It’s been a really refreshing thing to do,” he says, “because it’s almost like looking at a photograph of myself from 10 years ago. You know, when you’re young and making records, you’re sort of pie-eyed and I didn’t expect anything out of it. I just made this record for this girl. And here I am, 10 years later and still able to make music.

“Valleyheart is pretty special because I went into it thinking that I really want to make another record like No Never Alone. I wanted to make that record again, but from where I am now. Not like I want to replicate it or anything, but I was really intrigued by the way I approached that album, 10 years ago. There are certain aspects about it, like the space and the simplicity. A lot of diamonds and whole notes. You get the lushness of the instrument. It’s not based around a hit (song) — it’s based around the feeling.”

Re-releasing his debut album while preparing to release a record directly inspired by it has put Rutledge in a unique position. Not only can he stand the boy up against the man, and clearly chart his growth as an artist, but he can correct past missteps and recapture the youthful naïveté that allows for accidental genius.

“It’s funny, when they called to ask me who mastered (No Never Alone) in the first place, I thought about it, and I never got it mastered! So it’s not exactly re-mastered — it’s mastered,” he said, laughing.

“There’s something to be said about making your first record and not knowing what you’re doing,” he continues. “There’s a charm in that. I’m very much aware of what I do and I’m very thankful for what I do. To be honest with you, it’s very hard for me to write a song. Sometimes it’s really, not to be dramatic, but it’s a really painstaking process. It’s hard. But I really look back on that guy that made that record 10 years ago, and I have a lot of respect for him, because he somehow managed to do that.”